Abu Dhabi, October 16: With the opening of a new bridge near the Maqta bridge in the third quarter of the next year, the national capital will have one more gateway, the General Manager of Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) Falah Al Ahbabi announced here on Thursday.
The new bridge, which is under construction and will be named Shaikh Zayed Bridge, is the fourth entrance to the emirate after the Maqta Bridge, Musaffah Bridge and the Shaikha Khalifa Bridge which was inaugurated on Wednesday by Gen. Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Shaikh Zayed Bridge will link Raha Beach area to Salam Street, Al Ahbabi said at at a press conference. He added that Salam Street and Salam Tunnel will be opened in the third or fourth quarter of the next year. These construction works are often cited as the main reason for the traffic congestion in the city.
The authorities have fixed a maximum speed limit of 120 km/hour on the newly opened Shaikh Khalifa Highway from the Shaikh Khalifa Bridge to Shahama on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi road, according to Colonel Hussain Al Harthi of Abu Dhabi Police, who was also present at the press conference.
“We will be monitoring the speed of the vehicles on the highway using fixed and mobile radars, and will take all steps to ensure that there are no accidents on the road,’’ Al Harthi said.
Explaining the rationale behind fixing the maximum speed limit at 120 km/h instead of 160 km/h for the Dubai-Abu Dhabi road, he said, “The 10-lane Shaikh Khalifa highway was joining a four-lane road after Khalifa Bridge on the Mina side. So we had to gradually reduce the speed to avoid a traffic bottleneck at the end of the bridge.”
“There are a couple of sharp turns and tunnels on the highway, and the studies conducted by experts suggested reduction of speed will avoid accidents.”
He also said that trucks from Salam Street would be shifted to newly opened Shaikh Khalifa Highway within two days. This is also expected to ease traffic on Salam Street. Link roads from the highway to the Mina Port and to Corniche are also in the offing.
–Agencies